Customcreationconverter for JSON. Net Learning

Customcreationconverter is a JSON converter that provides custom methods to create an object during serialization. Once an object is created, it is filled with values by the serializer.

public interface IPerson    {        string FirstName { get; set; }        string LastName { get; set; }        DateTime BirthDate { get; set; }         void Set();    }    public class Employee : IPerson    {        public string FirstName { get; set; }        public string LastName { get; set; }        public DateTime BirthDate { get; set; }        public string Department { get; set; }        public string JobTitle { get; set; }        public void Set()        {        }    }    public class PersonConverter : CustomCreationConverter<IPerson>    {        public override IPerson Create(Type objectType)        {            return new Employee();        }    }

 

string json = @"[              {                ""FirstName"": ""Maurice"",                ""LastName"": ""Moss"",                ""BirthDate"": ""\/Date(252291661000)\/"",                ""Department"": ""IT"",                ""JobTitle"": ""Support""              },              {                ""FirstName"": ""Jen"",                ""LastName"": ""Barber"",                ""BirthDate"": ""\/Date(258771661000)\/"",                ""Department"": ""IT"",                ""JobTitle"": ""Manager""              }            ]";            List<IPerson> people = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<IPerson>>(json, new PersonConverter());            IPerson person = people[0];            Console.WriteLine(person.GetType());// CustomCreationConverterTest.Employee                     Console.WriteLine(person.FirstName);// Maurice            Employee employee = (Employee)person;            Console.WriteLine(employee.JobTitle);// Support

This is a very simple example. A more complex scenario may contain an object factory or servicelocator to parse the object at runtime.